Find a Question:

SpaceX will invest billions in satellite internet

Jan

18

2015

SpaceX has big plans for the establishment of worldwide internet with a large satellite network. The company will invest billions in satellite Internet, and even eventually hopes to bring the Internet to Mars.

CEO Elon Musk unveiled the plans at an event on Friday. The satellite project is an office set up in Seattle with 60 staff people. The project needs to grow in the years up to 1000 employees. Opposite BusinessWeek told Musk that the main goal is to 3 billion people who still do not have good access to the Internet to provide. In this sense the project at what Google has in mind with his balloons project Wage and Facebook with Internet.org.

The satellites of SpaceX should be at a height of about 1200km in orbit around the Earth. This is considerably closer to the earth than conventional communications satellites, which are sometimes tens of thousands of kilometers above the earth. Due to the shorter distance the signals have to cover a less large distance, resulting in a higher speed, so it is thought.

Not only people who still do not have Internet access would be provided with satellite internet from SpaceX: the company wants to create a global network where anyone can use. Thus it should be an alternative to the current networks are often tied together with fiberglass.

SpaceX says that the amount of approximately $ 10 billion, the equivalent of some 8.7 billion euros to invest to make plans to carry out in the coming years. Incidentally, the employees of the satellite project will focus on developing new missile systems. Incidentally, according Musk also looked at the possibility of bringing the Internet to Mars, as soon as there is a human colony.

There were earlier reports that SpaceX worked on satellite internet. A joint venture should be formed with Greg Wyler, a former Google employee who had earlier similar plans. SpaceX and Wyler would not agree with each other on how to become the project had to be precisely designed.